David Koma SS27: The Ice Rink Goes to the Riviera

Summer dressing on the Côte d’Azur has a long tradition of sensible linen and sun-bleached ease. David Koma’s Spring-Summer 2027 collection, built on the rhinestoned theatre of 1990s competitive figure skating, is a delightfully impractical counterargument, and I find it more persuasive than most resort offerings. Looking at the collection from Monte-Carlo, I think it is the most convincing case yet for glamour that is meant to be noticed.

A Collection Built on Discipline and Spectacle

Koma takes his cue from the obsessive precision of 90s figure skating, where athletic rigour met a highly stylised idea of femininity. Tonya Harding is the central reference, valued for raw athleticism and an unmistakable will to win rather than for polish. The result is a wardrobe of contrasts: candyfloss pink, icy rose, soft mint and luminous ivory set against liquid silver and stark black.

It is a sweet palette with a hard edge, and that tension is the point. Nothing here is demure, but neither is it crude.

Crystal Spirals and Mother-of-Pearl

My favourite idea is the most intellectual one. Compulsory figures, the circles and figure-eights skaters once traced on the ice, are reimagined as crystal spirals that travel across the body, each centred with mother-of-pearl. They appear as embroidery, oversized jewellery and precise cut-outs, while satin drawstrings gather into circular voids and transparent black mesh is stretched around round openings.

For the Riviera, this is where the collection works hardest. A crystal dress in daylight is a risk, but one built around mother-of-pearl has a softness that suits sea light. I can easily imagine it on a terrace above the harbour at golden hour, and it needs no jewellery beyond its own.

Feathers That Move

Koma’s signature feather plumes return as tops and skirts. The more interesting detail is technical: rows of fringe are stitched onto rigid boning and attached to the dress’s internal framework, so the structures bend under their own weight into fluid, suspended forms. As the wearer moves, they move with her.

This matters for summer evenings. Yacht decks, hotel terraces and late dinners reward clothes that respond to the room, and a dress that animates itself solves the problem of standing still in a crowd. Feathers are also lighter than they look, which is an honest consideration in July.

Warm-Up Looks for the Well-Travelled

The most wearable ideas sit in the training half of the collection. Satin bombers are paired with voluminous shorts, and protective jackets are layered over high-glamour dresses. This is the part I would shop first. A satin bomber over a simple slip is the right answer to a Riviera evening that turns cool by the water, and it keeps the glamour from feeling like a costume.

Then comes the metallic mint knit gown, skin-tight and unapologetically sensual, and the jersey columns that hold the line of movement after the body has stopped. Both are made for confident dressing at the Sporting, the Hôtel de Paris or a private dinner aboard, where the intention is to be seen without announcing it.

Scrunchies, Satin and a Knowing Sense of Fun

The 90s references continue through the fabrics. High-shine Lycra is fully crystallised, and satin is gathered into scrunchie-inspired frills across lingerie, ruched blouses and elongated trousers. It could tip into novelty. I think it stays on the right side because Koma treats the references as construction rather than costume, and the discipline of the cut keeps the humour in check.

For readers who prefer a lighter touch, the trousers and ruched blouses are the quiet entry point. They carry the collection’s palette without its full theatre.

The collection is presented as an image series created through a dialogue between photography and generative AI, set along the palm-lined roads of Los Angeles. I am of two minds about the technology, as many in luxury are, but the setting is clever. The road stands for repetition and ambition, and the palms bring the rink into a sunlit, cinematic landscape that happens to resemble our own. The Riviera shares that fondness for palms and spectacle.

The Verdict

Koma’s idea of femininity as force rather than fragility is the right one for summer 2027. Not everything here is for everyone, and the feathers and crystal demand a wearer who enjoys attention. But for the woman who dresses for the sport of it, who understands that polish and ambition can sit in the same wardrobe, this is among the most entertaining and best-constructed collections of the season. I would wear the bomber now and save the mint gown for August.

By Olga Barrale